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Since it’s one of my new favorite places to grab a quick lunch/dinner at Disney California Adventure, I figured I should probably head over to Flo’s V-8 Cafe to try out some breakfast options as well. I am happy to report that it didn’t disappoint!

Flo's V8 Cafe

Atmosphere

As you walk into Flo’s, you are handed a breakfast menu that includes photos. I actually love that fact that they include pictures of the meals. It makes it so easy to order, especially when you’ve got little ones with you.

I had no problem “selling” the waffles to my boys. My whole family was with me on this visit, so we made sure to order just about everything on the breakfast menu!

Flo's V8 Picture Menu

When you get up to the counter to order, there’s also a large menu board.

Flo's Breakfast Menu Stand

And I love the juke box and diner style clock that sits there as well…

Things are a little different this year!

The biggest news of the season is that Candy Canes will be made in BOTH Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. This means twice the candy cane fun.

Candy Cane making will be alternating between the two parks, as often 4 days a week.

At Disneyland, the Candy Canes will be made at the newly renovated Candy Palace while over at Disney California Adventure, they will be made at Trolley Treats.

Ready for their new homes!

How it Works:

Technically you are not supposed to line up before park opening, but guess what people do. When I went for the first time, I was lucky and got there just 30 minutes before park opening. But I talked to someone who was there by 4:00am, which to me is nuts. So basically, it’s your call.

Wristbands may be picked up at park opening. There will be 40 wristbands per batch and three batches per day. This means that 120 wristbands will be given out at park opening.

The earlier you are there, the earlier your batch. Your wristband will get you ONE candy cane. If you have people with you, you HAVE to be together as a group. They will not hand you wrist bands for anyone who is not with you.

Your wrist band will have the date and batch time on it. You may pick up your candy cane any time after your batch time. Your wrist band guarantees you your cane, but you must pick it up by 4:00 or it will be sold to someone in the stand by line.

Last year candy canes were going for $12.95; I am not aware if there has been a price increase or not.

Prepping to Cut

2012 Candy Cane Dates:

ANNNND. Something I found very interesting when I went and checked each day’s park hours… No taking advantage of Early Admission Hours. The Disneyland Resort has purposely left out Early Admission Hours. So basically, the days the Candy Canes are being made at Disneyland, there are zero that have early admission hours. It’s the same over at Disney California Adventure.

Newly opened Trolley Treats in Disney California Adventure has a handful of signature items that I’m very excited about!

Trolly Treats on Buena Vista Street

One of them is this brightly striped, hand pulled taffy made on site in their very own candy kitchen!

This new signature line comes in four flavors (from left to right below): Lemon-Lime, Strawberry-Orange, Watermelon, & Raspberry Peach.

Hand Pulled Packaged Taffy

Taffy Flavors and Ingredients

When I heard that DCA would be making hand pulled taffy in the candy kitchen, I was actually picturing salt water taffy pieces; so when I saw these striped strips I was really surprised and [Read more…]

After all of our coverage of Cars Land, we’ve got another great gem in the heart of Disney California Adventure’s new Buena Vista Street! I’ve already been there a few times and I can tell you that the Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe is a great stop for a quick bite to eat.

Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe

This, by the way, is also where you’ll find the very first Starbucks to be located inside of a Disney theme park.

I love that the signage for Starbucks is discreet.

Atmosphere

Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe is a counter service restaurant themed with The Silver Lake Sisters in mind. Who are the Silver Lake Sisters you ask? The story here is that they were a trio of singers with a love for [Read more…]

One of my favorite stores to visit in Disney California Adventure is the “Off the Page” gallery located next to the Art of Animation building in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot. They always have fun items ranging from fine art, to tech gadgets, to kitchen goodies and statuettes.

DCA's "Off the Page" Store

On a recent visit I noticed these cute “Foodie” statues and thought it would be fun to share them on the blog.

Today we’re welcoming guest author Kent Walker with a cool review of the brand new Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop at Disney California Adventure. Read on for a delicious dose of ice cream and brownies!

Having been big fans of chocolate since before we could spell the word, my wife and I were very excited to find out that a Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop would be opening at Disney California Adventure. Not only would we be able to ride Radiator Springs Racers, we’d be able to do it with a belly full of ice cream, hot fudge, and brownie.

Atmosphere

The Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop occupies the space that used to be the Mission Tortilla Factory, which was an original DCA attraction in 2001.

While we were sad to see the factory go (our sons especially loved the free corn and flour tortillas – including a whole bag on their birthday!), our depression was short-lived when we found out we could drown our sorrows in sea salt caramel hot cocoa!

Inside Ghirardelli at Disney California Adventure

Our family has been to San Francisco and visited the Ghirardelli Square shop, so we knew how good their chocolate, sundaes and chocolate drinks were. Other than the much larger selection of chocolate in San Francisco, the soda fountains are very similar.

Ghirardelli in DCA made the wise choice of having much wider aisles for easier stroller navigation and crowd control, and a Ghirardelli staffer hands out samples and menus out at the door. They even go the extra step and cut off the top of the foil package so it’s easier for you to get at your free chocolate treat. On the day we stopped by, it was a caramel filled milk chocolate piece.

Other than the wider aisles for crowds and strollers, the inside is very similar to other Ghirardelli Soda Fountains across the country. One nice touch, though, is a [Read more…]

When you’re in Cars Land and you are drooling over Radiator Springs Racers (which are totally worth drooling over), don’t forget to check out the fun little details Cars Land has to offer.

One of my favorite sights caught my eye as I was walking over to Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree. On my way to ride, I got completely distracted by the psychedelic glow of Fillmore’s Taste-In. So much so, that I went over to check it out before hitting the spinning tractors!

Fillmore's Taste-In

Atmosphere

Fillmore’s signage is cleverly made of mufflers dangling from hubcaps, and his tent is just a “prop.” My guess is that inside is a storage area. The actual store consists of stands filled with what Disney calls “healthier” snacks and drinks.

Fillmore's Signage

Just like Fillmore’s character in the Cars movies, the Taste-In makes groovy “natural” snacks available to help you refuel and keep you racing! I was lucky to get to see Fillmore’s at night; the colors were spectacular, changing every few minutes (hence the crazy glowing [Read more…]

Well, it’s time to hop on the Red Trolley and take a ride to check it out. Be sure to notice the fun ad for Clarabelle’s while you’re in the trolley. See you there!

Red Trolley Stop #1 at the Entrance to Buena Vista Street

Red Trolley Clarabelle's Ad: "It's Udderly Fabulous!"

Clarabelle’s Back Story

From the moment I heard about Clarabelle’s, I was really looking forward to checking it out. It has a fabulous little back story.

In the early 1920’s, it’s said that a young Walt Disney often visited an ice cream shop run by “Clarabelle Cowherd.” The bovine-obsessed Clarabelle ran her ice cream shop using farm fresh dairy products, and used old fashioned churns to make her flavorful hand scooped ice creams.

It’s said that she was the inspiration for Disney’s humorous Clarabelle Cow character. And I love that Clarabelle’s story is a part of the decor of this new ice cream stop on Buena Vista Street!

Clarabelle's Signage with Ice Cream Cone Inspired Light

Outdoor Wall Signage

Located smack in between the new Fiddler, Fifer, & Practical Cafe and Trolley Treats, Clarabelle’s is a walk-up counter service spot to get some traditional Disneyland Resort goodies as well as something totally new to the parks’ menus: The Hand Dipped Ice Cream Bar.

Clarabelle's Menu

Atmosphere

Clarabelle’s is tiny. With just three registers to place an order, I think on a hot day this cow-crazy cone shop is going to be an E-Ticket attraction sized line.

Don’t let it’s size fool you, though, because imagineers were able to pack some very snazzy decor into a [Read more…]

Walking through Cars Land, you literally feel like you’ve stepped into the movie Cars. I honestly do not see how it would be possible to improve the themeing for this new area of Disney California Adventure.

Cozy Cone Motel Sign

Every single detail was well thought out and taken directly from the movie. The experience I had while strolling the streets of Radiator Springs is definitely how I’d imagine jumping into a movie screen and becoming an animated extra would be (OK, maybe I’m a little weird imagining myself as an animated character, don’t judge…)!

The Cozy Cone Motel is perhaps one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen “come to life.” In this post, we’ll walk through each of the Cones, then take a look at the special Imagineering details at the Cozy Cone Motel as well as an “after dark” photo tour of the amazing neon and lit-up cones here! Here we go!

Atmosphere

My first thought when I walked up to the Cozy Cone Motel was, “Man I wish I could actually stay here.” It looks exactly like the movie; I mean everything from Sally’s office (aka hotel lobby) to the actual cones, which are perfectly sized to make us humans feel like, well, cars.

Sally's Office

Cozy Cones from "the street"

My second thought? “Woah, those are some serious long lines!”

The Cozy Cones are apparently the place to be!

But don’t you worry, I will be back very soon to give all of the cones a try…. In the meantime, check out our previous review, and feast your eyes on the amazingness that is the Cozy Cone Motel!

The Cones

We’ll go through each of the cones in order, so you know what to expect!